Yesterday, under the cloak of embargo, Realtor.com released the iPad app to the media. Errol Samuleson, President of MOVE provided us with a walk through of some really great technology, calling it the Etch A Sketch of mobile real estate search.
If you are familiar with the popular iPhone, Android, and Windows Mobile applications by Realtor.com, then you know that they have done an admirable job of providing a top of class mobile search product. Like its mobile brethren, the iPad is no different. All in all, it is a great start. Some features I liked are the ability to circle an area you would like to search with your finger (hence the etch a sketch reference). The map updates the listings as you drive, even updating the median home value and market statistics. They are also focused on helping the consumer move from desktop to mobile device and back. Registered consumers may save their preferences, like a favorite house on either platform and view it from the other.
To support REALTORS, if a consumer adds their agent’s email address and phone number in the settings of the application, the consumer may share what they find with thier agent.
Mobile has become the darling of leading consumer facing websites. Zillow, Trulia, and Realtor.com have all reported extraordinary traffic from mobile search. The consumer facing applications are far better than many of the tools provided to REALTORS from their MLS. Perhaps that too shall change. Here is the press release
REALTOR.COM® LAUNCHES iPAD APP
15 Million iPad Users Now Have The Search Power of Realtor.com In All Inclusive App
CAMPBELL, Calif., (April 25, 2011) – The search power of Realtor.com is now available on the iPad at http://www.realtor.com/mobile/iPad. Launched today by Move, Inc., (NASDAQ: MOVE), the leader in online real estate, the Realtor.com iPad app is the only real estate search app delivering everything from listings with maps and GPS directions to personalization tools to keep users organized and connected when searching across country or across town. Realtor.com mobile apps are also the only real estate search apps with access to Realtor.com, the largest and most accurate collection of online property listings, with more than 80 percent of all property listings updated every 15 minutes.
Today, 10 properties are viewed every second on a Realtor.com mobile app, including the iPhone, Android, Windows Phone 7, and now iPad at http://www.realtor.com/mobile. Realtor.com mobile apps have been downloaded 3.6 million times and active users have increased by 79 percent in four months.
“With a Realtor.com mobile app, there’s no waiting or wondering anymore if a property is on or off the market, how much it costs, or if it will fit your needs,” said Steve Berkowitz, chief executive officer of Move, Inc., operator of Realtor.com. “Mobile is changing the way people buy and sell homes and our iPad app opens real estate up to millions of people with an amazing visual search experience. It combines mobile’s instant gratification and investigative component that everyone loves with Move’s search technology. We’re very excited to expand our mobile offerings and deliver the power of Realtor.com to millions of iPad users.”
Finding the ideal home among the millions of properties on Realtor.com is fast, easy and fun with the Realtor.com iPad app:
- Draw Your Own Search Boundaries anywhere in the U.S. with Area Highlighter. It’s fast and allows for hyper-local searches down to street levels. Tap the Show More Listings button, and more properties instantly populate the map. Use the iPad’s finger controls to slide, pinch, zoom and pan through a map to drill down into a neighborhood or particular street.
- Personalize your experience by rating properties and saving personal notes on each home for later reference or to share with an agent via email. Sort, refine or filter your search results according to what’s important to you – price, distance, square footage, etc. Create new searches for homes or open houses nationwide or nearby based on your location, MLS ID number, or by city, state, or street name. Tap My Real Estate to instantly access My Listings, My Saved Searches, or My Recent Searches.
- Stay Connected with an agent from each listing detail page via email with questions or to schedule a tour. Store their contact details within the app so it’s easier to send notes, comments and ratings about properties to your agent. Keep friends and family connected to your house hunting adventure by sharing favorite properties via email, Facebook and Twitter.
“The Realtor.com iPad app gives buyers and agents everything they need when they need it most to work together successfully in finding properties,” said Realtor.com President Errol Samuelson. “In the past year, Realtor.com mobile apps have contributed to a 240 percent increase in consumer outreach to local agents, and open house views have increased by 459 percent in just four months. Even more exciting, in-app communication between agents and consumers
The Realtor.com iPad app offers other notable features including:
- Easy-to-Use results feed directly from Realtor.com to a pull down menu that floats over a map with property pins or in a magazine-style gallery view with bold photos. Switching between views and three mapping options is easy, and diving into a listing’s detail page for open house dates, property details, large photos, agent contact details, map’s with GPS-based directions, and share buttons requires one touch. Scroll through the helpful search tips on the homepage.
- Self-Contained Listing Detail Pages feature maps enabling users to view properties on a street or satellite view and scan the neighborhood for items of interest. With one touch, quickly enter the information into your personal notes field saving notes on why a listing has great appeal, such as proximity to a local park or hiking trail. There’s no need to exit the app for directions, maps, or for property details.
- Remain Organized by using the visual ‘Check marks’ that appear on map-based property pins, the pull down menu and gallery view to track previously viewed properties. Buyers can also add open house events to their calendar, and save favorite listings or frequently used searches to their Realtor.com account for later use.
Realtor.com 2.0 iPhone App Also Announced
Today, Realtor.com also announced the availability of key updates to the app compatible with the iPhone iOS 4.0, including a new home screen with grouped features and easier access to recent searches, Area Highlighter and Area Scout. In addition, a “My Real Estate” screen has been added that includes Saved Listings, Saved Searches, Recently Viewed Listings and Recent Searches. A simplified location selection in Search mode and a more prominent Search button on the search screen are also now available. A new Viewed indicator on the list and map views displays once a user has looked at a Listing Detail Page, while an “in-page” send and share option have been added to the iPhone iOS 4.0 search experience.
ABOUT MOVE, INC.
Move, Inc. (Nasdaq: MOVE) is the leader in online real estate with 14.5[2]million monthly visitors to its online network of web sites. Move, Inc. operates: Move.com, a leading destination for information on new homes and rental listings, moving, home and garden and home finance; Realtor.com®, the official web site of the National Association of Realtors®; Moving.com; SeniorHousingNet; Top Producer Systems, and ListHub. Move, Inc. is based in Campbell, California.
ABOUT REALTOR.COM®
Realtor.com®, where the world shops for real estate online, is operated by Move, Inc., (NASDAQ:MOVE) and is the official web site of the National Association of Realtors®. Ranked as the #1 homes-for-sale site, Realtor.com® currently offers potential home buyers access to over four million property listings, as well as the most brokers and agents. It also provides Realtors® and the home sellers they represent with the Internet’s largest real estate marketplace, reaching more than 12.72 million consumers in January 2011. Agents and companies have the power to customize Realtor.com® resources to maximize their brand and productivity.
This press release may contain forward-looking statements, including information about management’s view of Move’s future expectations, plans and prospects, within the safe harbor provisions under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the results of Move, its subsidiaries, divisions and concepts to be materially different than those expressed or implied in such statements. These risk factors and others are included from time to time in documents Move files with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to, its Form 10-Ks, Form 10-Qs and Form 8-Ks. Other unknown or unpredictable factors also could have material adverse effects on Move’s future results. The forward-looking statements included in this press release are made only as of the date hereof. Move cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Finally, Move expressly disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.
